We're being subjected to a constant and rather depressing west to northwesterly wind which gusts to almost gale force, along with grey skies and occasional showers. While the air temperature struggles to reach 18C, it feels cold outdoors.
This weather is having a miserable affect on the wildlife. The meadow between our development and the A9 is a mass of wildflowers yet the only butterfly I saw despite sitting, looking for a quarter of an hour, was a white. It's the same in our garden where....
....this tortoiseshell has put in a regular appearance, while a white and....
....this rather battered painted lady have been the only other butterflies seen over the last few days.
The one place where one can find butterflies in any numbers is in Speckled Wood where the speckled woods are doing their best to fly in challenging conditions.
The sound of birdsong continues in the woods, though not at the same exuberant volume as a few weeks ago, most of the birds concentrating on feeding their young. As well as contending with the weather they also have to worry about....
....the resident female sparrowhawk. She killed a small bird yesterday morning on the roadway in front of our house and then flew off with the pathetic little corpse before I could take a picture. Then she was back in the late afternoon....
....hunting for more.
We haven't seen a male replacing the one that killed itself in our garden a few weeks ago so can only hope that her activity indicates that, despite the loss of her mate, she has been able to rear a brood.
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